An Analyst

It’s not necessarily my story, but long story short:  I liked someone, and someone else liked me. It didn’t ripen into a full-fledged romantic relationship, but the attraction was undeniable. Families were informed. The Penn Kaanum Ceremony  (formal meeting) took place on the eve of Kaanum Pongal , even though we had met before. All the near and dear gathered at the house. Silence filled the room until someone finally broke the ice out of necessity. Older members quipped about their younger days, and then, just like that, everyone left. Later that day, the tension boiled over. "Why was your father so silent? Did he not like me?"  "Well, you aren’t going to marry him , are you?"  "Stop your sick jokes." After that, phone calls went unanswered. Later, a family member living abroad shared the "behind-the-scenes" truth of the ceremony. It turns out the father didn’t like the man his daughter chose. His reasons? The man was a little bulky and too sile...

In the history of Indian science, Anna Mani (1918–2001) stands as the foundational figure who turned the nation’s weather observation from a colonial dependency into a self-reliant powerhouse. Her journey was defined by a practical, no-nonsense approach to the physical world and a relentless drive for precision.  The following account explores the life and legacy of Anna Mani,from her early academic defiance and her work under C.V. Raman to her pivotal role in building India’s meteorological independence and her foundational contributions to the nation’s renewable energy sector. A Childhood of Quiet Rebellion Anna Mani was born in 1918 in Peermade, Kerala, into a prosperous Syrian Christian family. Her father was a civil engineer and an agnostic who taught his children to question everything and value objective thinking. While her sisters were being "primed for marriage," Anna was a voracious, almost obsessive reader. A famous turning point occurred on her eighth birthday in ...

Annapoorna Devi: The Silent Stalwart of the Surbahar  Many may not recognize the name Annapoorna Devi, yet she was a musical stalwart who lived among us until quite recently. To provide context, one must mention Pandit Ravi Shankar. While many today recognize the names of Ravi Shankar or his daughter, Anoushka, few realize that Annapoorna Devi was Ravi Shankar’s first wife and, by his own accounts, an incredibly accomplished musician. Early Life and Musical Lineage  Born as Roshanara Khan in Maihar (present-day Madhya Pradesh), she was the daughter of the legendary musician Ustad Allauddin Khan and Madanmanjari Devi. Her father served as a courtier under Maharaja Brijnath Singh of the Maihar estate. Since her father was away at the time of her birth, it was Maharaja Brijnath Singh who named her Annapoorna Devi. Though raised in a Muslim household, she was known by this name to her near and dear ones. Ustad Allauddin Khan was a multi-instrumentalist who taught many greats, in...